Sports
Iyaya Condoles With Late Ogedengbe’s Family … NFF, NPL Too
Rivers State Commissioner for Sports, Hon. Boma Iyaye has sympathised with the family of former national team goal keeper, Best Ogedegbe who died on Monday after an eye surgery.
This was contained in a statement signed by the press officer of the Ministry of Sports, Juliana Masi.
According to Iyaye, the death of former goalkeeper trainer of Dolphins FC of Port Harcourt was heartbreaking and he would be missed by all Nigerians, especially those in the sports industry in the country, particularly, Rivers State.
The commissioner prayed God to give the family the fortitude to bear the irreparable lost.
He further urged them to be strong as the good legacies left by Ogedengbe would not be forgotten easily.
Until his death, Ogedegbe was in the employment of Dolphins FC, Port Harcourt as goalkeeper trainer.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Football Federation NFF and the Nigerian Premier League NPL have expressed deep shock and huge sense of grief at the death of former national goalkeeper Best Ogedegbe, last week.
Ogedegbe was reported to have died after an eye operation at the University College Hospital, Ibadan on Tuesday last week.
In a letter to the family of the departed goaltender, signed by NFF General Secretary Dr Bolaji Ojo-Oba, the Federation wrote: “The death of the affable Best Ogedegbe, who was number one goalkeeper for the national senior team, Green Eagles, when they won the African Cup of Nations for Nigeria for the first time in 1980, has once again robbed our country of a true hero who worked hard and painstakingly for the growth and good of Nigeria football.
“It is on record that late Ogedegbe conceded ONLY one goal in all of Nigeria’s five matches at the African Cup of Nations in 1980, helping in no small way to ensure that the Green Eagles lifted the trophy on home soil with aplomb. His excellent goalkeeping skills are still being lauded almost three decades after.
“Late Ogedegbe was also a pivot of the national U-23 team, as Goalkeeper Trainer, as the team qualified for the 2008 Olympic Games in China and went to Beijing to dazzle the world, picking the silver medal in the process.
“Our consolation at this period is that the late Ogedegbe left his giant footprints in the sands of time. We pray that the Almighty God will grant his very gentle soul eternal rest, and also grant the family he has left behind as well as the Nigeria football fraternity the fortitude to bear the loss.”
Reacting to his death, the NPL Chairman Oyuki Jackson Obaseki,reflected on Ogedegbe’s commitment to his mother land and humility which handed him with many national laurels and concluded that his death has indeed closed another chapter of Nigeria national football heroes.
Hon Dike who spoke with sports journalists shortly after the flag off the 2024 edition of Chairman’s Football Unity Tournament at Botem Tai in Tai LGA, said the tournament is an annual event to promote peace and unity in Tai as well identify budding talents in the area for global competition.
The opening ceremony of the tournament was more like a carnival was witnessed by huge crowd including prominent indigenes of Ogoni Kingdom, sports lovers and people from all works of life.
The LGA boss revealed that special sports committee will be setup in the area to work out modalities to strengthen sports development in Tai.
He advised the participants in the tournament from various wards in the LGA to play the game by the rules and conduct themselves in a peaceful and orderly manner and use the opportunity to showcase their talents.
Hon Dike further disclosed that his administration will also give priority attention to skills development among the youth to enhance their human capacity and promote enterprise development in the area.
Earlier in his address the Chairman of Tai LGA Football Council, Elder Wisdom Gorgor said the annual football competition has been a unifying factor in Tai LGA that need to be sustained to forge more unity and development in the area.
He urged the participants to see the competition as an opportunity to embrace football as a full career and earn sustainable livelihood.
Elder Gorgor who commended the Chairman of Tai LGA, Hon Dike for his visionary leadership and tremendous development achievements recorded in the LGA under his administration, appealled to the Chairman to build a Mini Sports Stadium in the area to promote sporting activities.
The training was held at the Sani Abacha Stadium Indoor Basketball Court in Kano last Saturday.
According to the Vice President and Head of NBA Nigeria, Gbemisola Abudu, the event was part of the league’s commitment to growing broader basketball ecosystem in Nigeria and making the game more accessible across the country.
“Our first Jr. NBA clinic in Kano speaks to our commitment to growing the game in Nigeria and creating more opportunities for boys and girls to learn and play the game,” Abudu said.
“Nigeria has a rich basketball history and abundance of talent, which is evident every time you watch an NBA game. We look forward to continuing to engage with basketball stakeholders, business leaders and members of the community to further the game’s reach and impact on young people around the country,” she added.
The 2024 basketball initiative clinics of NBA Nigeria also included the league’s inaugural Jr. NBA elite camp for 150 boys and age-16 girls held at the American International School in Lagos in July.
Others include the NBA’s building of 1,000 courts in Africa over the next decade, Nigeria’s Festival Coins and Salubata named the top two winning businesses at NBA Africa Triple-Double Accelerator’s inaugural Demo Day in New York City held last September, and the third edition of “NBA Meets Art,” a curated installation celebrating basketball through the lens of Nigerian art and culture as part of West Africa’s premier art fair Art X Lagos, held in November.
Central to this vision is the federation’s investment in capacity building, evident in the just-concluded one-week Level 1 Badminton World Federation (BWF) Coaching Course, which marked a significant milestone for Nigerian badminton.
Held in Abuja, the course brought together 13 young coaches from across Nigeria. The last time such a course was held in the country was in 2017, making this a historic and transformative step.
The training was facilitated by the Badminton Confederation of Africa (BCA) in partnership with the Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN) and conducted by Dr. Ahmed Radah, the BCA Development Manager.
Radah, impressed by the talent he witnessed, praised Nigeria’s potential.
“Nigeria is blessed with immense talent and a strong badminton tradition. I believe this country has what it takes to dominate on the global stage,” he remarked.